Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Greater New Orleans

Change Region

comments

Speaking softly, LSU's Kevin Minter has made his presence felt in a big way

LSU middle linebacker Kevin Minter has been a quiet but dominant presence in the middle of the Tigers' defense this season with 111 tackles and 13.5 tackles for loss.
(Photo by Michael DeMocker, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune)

ATLANTA -- It was a sweltering day on the field in a hostile environment at Ben Hill
Griffin Stadium back in early October, with LSU and Florida locked up in an
intense defensive struggle. All
of a sudden it hit safety Eric Reid as the defense huddled up for
the next snap.

As linebacker
Kevin Minter's spectacular day was unfolding -- as always quietly and without a
lot of fanfare -- his teammates took notice.

"We
were standing there, trying to catch our breath, and Eric looked over and said 'Kevin,
do you know you've made every play?'"
defensive end Barkevious Mingo said, trying to imitate Reid's respectfully
incredulous tone when he realized what Minter was doing.

"Kevin
was in a zone -- flying around and making plays. Making every play."

LSU middle linebacker Kevin Minter: 'I had to work hard and compete for everything I got, and that's made me appreciate it that much more.'Chris Granger, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune

Well,
maybe not every play, although it seemed that way. Minter was undoubtedly spectacular
that day in The Swamp with 17 solo tackles and 3 assists. That turned out to be
the signature game of what has been a special season for the fourth-year LSU
junior.

That
season winds down Monday not far from Minter's hometown in Suwanee, Ga., when
he and No. 9-ranked LSU (10-2) square off with 14th-ranked Clemson
(10-2) in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl at the Georgia Dome.

And
in his typical unassuming fashion, Minter is wide-eyed at the idea of stepping
back on the field where some of his biggest games have unfolded.

"I
played in the state championship game here and lost," Minter said. "I've also
played here against North Carolina (the first start of his career in 2010) and in
the SEC Championship Game. I've got a lot of history here. I've always played
fairly well here. I love the Georgia Dome."

That's
about as close as the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Minter comes to brashness.

On
those 20 tackles he was in on against Florida, not once did Minter get up off the
pile of humanity yapping or talking trash. Instead, every play he's a part of ends
with him trotting back to the huddle or to his spot in the middle of the Tigers'
defense.

Flip
that around, and you won't see -- or hear -- Minter imploring teammates with
passionate speeches or arm-waving demonstrations.

The
most his LSU teammates usually get, Mingo said, is Minter firmly and quietly
urging "Let's go!"

Barkevious MingoLSUSports.net

"I
tease him sometimes because that's all we get from him," Mingo said. "I tell
him, 'That's it, man?' But that's a lot of emotion from Kevin."

No
argument from Minter. He concedes that working up a verbal lather is not part
of his repertoire.

"It
kind of came with my personality," he said. "I've never been that kind of guy. I've
always been somebody who leads by example. I was a lot more assertive this year
as far as getting guys lined up and telling them where they need to be because
it's kind of what this job demands. But I've never felt like I needed to yell
or scream to make my point."

Nor
has he had to rely on vocal theatrics to be an effective defensive quarterback
a season after the Tigers' linebacker corps struggled most of the season.

Minter
was a part-time starter in 2011, splitting time with Karnell Hatcher, as
defensive coordinator John Chavis deployed a 4-2-5 scheme almost exclusively to
accentuate the talents of Tyrann Mathieu as a ball-hawking playmaker.

When
Mathieu was dismissed from the team prior to the season, on top of the losses
of defensive backs Mo Claiborne, Brandon Taylor and Ron Brooks to the NFL, there
was a gaping hole on the defense for somebody who could consistently supply a
game-changing presence.

LSU middle linebacker Kevin Minter played a key role in the Tigers' ability to slow down Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel with a team-high 12 tackles.Chris Granger, NOLA.com | Times-Picayune

While
Minter isn't the same kind of dynamo that Mathieu was, he has helped fill the
void in different ways.

Chavis
was more comfortable using three linebackers more often this season, with
junior Lamin Barrow also emerging as a star on the weakside and several players
taking on the task on the strongside when Tahj Jones was ruled academically
ineligible.

Minter
rewarded Chavis and the rest of the defense by delivering a huge season.

The
performance at Florida was the centerpiece, but he also recorded three other
games with 10 tackles or more and has 111 stops heading into the bowl game.
Minter has notched 13½ tackles for loss - at least one in every game but two.

This
wasn't an overnight metamorphosis for Minter. Without an ounce of hesitation,
he describes himself as a system player and says he took his time to learn as
he toiled behind Kelvin Sheppard in 2010 and shared time with Hatcher last
season.

"I
had to work hard and compete for everything I got, and that's made me
appreciate it that much more," Minter said.

"I've
always had the size, strength and talent to be a good linebacker. It was just a
matter of getting the system down and gaining confidence in myself in the
ability to move people around and tell them where they need to be."

There
was an impetus to that confidence.

Chavis'
pride and joy as a coach has always been stout linebacker play and when that
unit came under criticism and scrutiny in 2011, LSU's defensive coordinator felt
that sting as deeply as the players.

LSU defensive coordinator John ChavisAssociated Press

So
in the off-season, Chavis sat down with the player he knew could spearhead an
immediate and necessary turnaround.

"Coach
Chavis told me 'You've always had the potential and now it's time to start
living up to that,' " Minter said. "That meant a lot to me - that he thought I
was that kind of player. It motivated me to work a lot harder in the off-season
and from the first game, it felt different out there. It felt easier, almost like
I was back in high school."

The
result of the heart-to-heart with Chavis was that Minter emerged not only as a
team leader, but also as one of the best linebackers in the country.

"It
was an opportunity, and certainly we needed for him to step up and be front and
center," Chavis said. "Kevin is a real quiet guy, but I saw both sides, on and
off the field, and I feel like I know him very, very well. He's the kind of leader that you want to have."

That
applies off the field as well.

Minter
graduated earlier this month and has never been affiliated with a sniff of
trouble. In an age when players are closely watched, their social media habits are
over-analyzed and news of arrests and suspensions have mushroomed, Minter relies
more on politeness and letting his actions speak.

"He's
the kind of guy who leads by example," said Barrow, one of Minter's closest
friends. "He does everything right on and off the field, and that's naturally
somebody you look up to. When he has to be vocal, he can be."

Added
Reid, "He's a great example-setter for the young guys, somebody they can look
up to and somebody they can count on if they have a question, they can go to
him and he'll answer it and not embarrass them."

More
than that, though, Minter has that hidden ability to do what coaches crave most
in their best players: He makes those around him better.

Not
with a bunch of bravado - remember, "Let's go!" is as much as he offers up -
but instead with the personality that other players around him follow and emulate.

LSU linebacker Lamin Barrow: 'Feeding off (Minter's) energy has helped make me a better player this year.'NOLA.com | Times-Picayune

"Feeding
off his energy has helped make me a better player this year," Barrow said
matter-of-factly. "We always dreamed of being out there together from the time
we got here, and he just helps motivate me by showing me you can make your
statement with the way you play."

At
the team banquet a few weeks ago, Minter was voted by his teammates as the team
Most Valuable Player.

Still
seemingly stunned by that recognition, Minter paused and contemplated his
answer when asked how significant that is to him.

When
he finally did, he delivered what will eventually be a perfect and fitting epitaph
to his LSU career.

"It
tells me that my teammates see me as a guy who tries his best and does
everything he can for his team," Minter said.